Beer: Reviews & Ratings

A: Pours a very dark brown with an enormous and frothy light brown head. Top notch head retention. Huge interlocked chunks of lacing everywhere. Some of the heaviest lacing I've seen on a beer ever for that matter. Nice littel island of foam to boot.

T: Oaky up front. Very earthy. Dark bready malt dominates with earthy spices. Sort of dusty cocoa flavor that's not far from oxidation. Black pepper in the aftertaste with more oak. Oak lingers between sips.

M: Surprisingly low carbonation and a medium body. Feels very dead if that makes any sense.

O: Not a bad brew. Tastes like an oak aged ESB at times, if I'm honest. Maybe an oak aged ESB with belgian yeast. Malt and oak character is the highlight here - especially the oak. Aroma is fantastic but the taste sorta fell flat on its face a bit. Mouthfeel was very flat and plain too. I don't think this is really all that bad, it's just that it was a bit of a letdown after smelling it. Overall a "meh", I poured it out after a glass. (1,328 characters)

Nose brings loads of oak, toasted buttery oak, like over oaked chardonnay kinda oak, hard to get through the toasted oak, but eventually I get flashes of dark malts, some sweet candy like dark malts, little molasses and possibly candi sugar, as well as some mild phenols and spices, and touch of a raisiny like fruit note, and some toasted dark brown malts.

Taste brings creamy dark malts at first, some toasted brown malts with a little molasses and candy like flavors, a mild warming booze and some big phenolic characters with that, bringing a little acidity and pepper notes, bit of raisiny fruit too, as well as a mild tangy yeast note, and minerals. Plenty of oak again, toasted buttery oak, but not as much as the aroma. Seems to not really round off the flavors, it just has it's own thing going. It has a bit of a nutty brown malt thing too, and and syrupy characters. Finish is dry but sticky sweet, little candy syrup, molasses notes, more phenols and little booze, and bit of oak as well, also that mild yeasty tangy flavor.

Overall not bad, don't think all the flavors play too well together, but still nice flavors, when you want that Big Belgian beer with phenols, raisin, little booze, pepper, sweet candy like wihtout being too heavy or sweet this is nice kinda beer, oak was a nice touch but a little heavy and not blended too well. (1,595 characters)

Batch #2. Pours a deep brown with a creamy cap. Nose is sweet and malty with a hint of oak and a trace of something tart. Taste reveals light oak on a toasted malt backbone and some noble hops bittering towards the back. Mouthfeel is light-medium in body with an assertive carbonation. An interesting beer with a fair amount of complexity. One of my favorites from this brewery. (378 characters)

The beer pours a dark, molasses brown, with a big fat head of medium-sized, creamy bubbles the color of a sand dune. The head forms to over three finger’s widths and sticks around, leaving a fat sheath of fluffy lacing on the sides of the glass. On the nose, the beer smells roasty with a meaty substance behind it. Suggestions of oak, vanilla, soft metal, and pears hover on the tip of the nose while a nice mellow, roast malt takes center stage. The smell is subtle yet nuanced. On the tongue, the beer tastes richly sweet with a distinct umami meatiness, soft acidity does wet the mouth while the bitters are mild and herbal, helping to keep the beer in nice balance. Tannic bitters do enter on the finish of the beer, and provide a nice touch of the barrel to the beer, though they are a tad too much for my personal tastes. In flavor, the beer begins as rich, creamy maple syrup but only for the briefest of seconds before roast malt, and then the funky yeast take hold and throw fruity pear, light metal, and roast chocolate into the mix. The finish is nicely oak-flavored, with soft vanilla and middling herbal tannin that lasts into the aftertaste. The taste is subtle, but vastly complex, unfurling on the tongue in many layers. At its base, this beer is Mystic’s Descendant saison porter, and the Descendant definitely comes through on the taste with its unique esters, but the barrel works to add rich nuances, and the Utopias that was initially in the barrels helps to add a richness to the beer. There is even a soft heat on the finish as you feel the beer move down your gullet. In the mouth, the beer feels medium plus in body, with a chewy mouthfeel and velvety carbonation that helps deliver a soft and soothing coating over the tongue. After the beer leaves, the mouth is left wet and slightly sticky with a slight pucker on the sides of the cheeks from the tannin. Overall, I really enjoyed this beer. The barrel aging is subtler than in some beers we see today, but it adds a nice layer of complexity that makes for a superb sipper. The tannin is a bit heavy, but overall this is an interesting sipper, and a great bottle to share with friends. This is a beer to try. (2,191 characters)

Overall: A nice dark and oaky brew. The oak is never overpowering and very pleasant. One of the better beers from a very good brewery. I will get this again if they make another batch of it. (415 characters)